Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Football Postgame Notes
11/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Marshall game captains versus Southern Miss, as chosen by Coach Doc Holliday and his staff, are -- Offense: Rakeem Cato, QB; Chris Jasperse, C; Defense: James Rouse, DT; Neville Hewitt, LB. Cato and Jasperse share the team-high with five game captaincies this season. Rouse and Hewitt have four apiece.
The Herd defense's "tribute" to injured linebacker Evan McKelvey has senior linebacker Jermaine Holmes - who usually wears No. 46 - wearing McKelvey's No. 31 tonight at Southern Miss. McKelvey suffered a season-ending knee injury in the win at Old Dominion on Oct. 4.
Southern Miss' opening drive, 13 plays, 75 yards for a touchdown, was longest scoring drive on the clock (6:20) against Marshall this season.
Southern Miss' 14-0 lead is the largest deficit for the Herd since trailing 41-24 at end of Conference USA Championship Game last December.
Senior C Chris Jasperse made his team-leading 48th career start (every game he's played at MU), tied for most among active offensive linemen in FBS. The Marshall record for starts - as an FBS program (1953-81 and 1997-present) -- is 52 by OT Steve Sciullo (1999-2002). Stat includes players on offense, defense; no specialists.
WR Tommy Shuler's first-quarter reception stretches his game streak with a catch to 36 games (tied for No. 9 longest streak in FBS).
Junior Remi Watson got the start at running back for MU in place of injured Devon Johnson. It was Watson's fifth career start and first start since Nov. 10, 2012, in a loss at UAB.
RB Remi Watson's TD catch from Rakeem Cato (first quarter) was Watson's first career TD reception. It was Cato's 69th career TD pass in the red zone, to go with only five interceptions.
The pass attempt on which Rakeem Cato completed a first-quarter TD pass to Remi Watson was Cato's fifth attempt of the game, giving Cato 1,620 attempts for his career, passing Chad Pennington (1,619) for No. 1 in Marshall history.
RB Stew Butler's 30-yard TD run early in second quarter is the 12th rush of 30 or more yards in his Herd career.
WR Tommy Shuler's five catches for 80 yards (7:23 left in half, 28-17 Herd lead) moves him past Tim Martin for No. 5 on Herd career receiving yards list. Shuler has 2,951 yards. Shuler's five catches move him to 269 for his career and into for No. 7 spot in C-USA history. It also was Shuler's 22nd career TD catch, tying him with Jim Swierczek (1951-53) for No. 10 in Marshall career TD reception history.
QB Rakeem Cato, with 138 yards total offense (11:30 left in third quarter), has moved to 13,056 yards for his career, passing Chad Pennington (13,048) for No. 1 on the Marshall career total offense list.
QB Rakeem Cato has two TD passes and one TD run, giving him 126 career scores in touchdown responsibility, second in Conference USA history to 178 by Case Keenum (Houston, 2007-11). Cato passed Rice's Chase Clement (125 from 2005-08).
7:12, third quarter - Herd 35-17, extends Marshall's streak as only major college team with at least 35 points in every game this season.
QB Rakeem Cato has thrown a TD pass for a 41st consecutive game, the NCAA major college (FBS record). Only two quarterbacks in NCAA history have longer streaks, both in lower divisions: 46 games - Mike Reilly, Central Washington, 2005-08 (Division II record); 42 games - Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross, 2006-09 (FCS record).
4:26 left in third quarter - LB Raheem Waiters' fumble recovery is the first of his career. DE Arnold Blackmon's forced fumble is his second this season and his third FF in his two seasons in a Marshall uniform.
QB Rakeem Cato's 33-yard run (late third quarter) is the second-longest of his career. He ran for a 63-yd TD in win over Rhode Island in September.
RB Stew Butler's 83-yard TD run (14:37 fourth quarter) is his longest career run and the eighth-longest in Herd history. It is MU's longest run since Doug Chapman ran 87 yards for a TD in the 1999 Motor City Bowl win over BYU.
Butler has 118 yards, giving the Herd 12 100-yard rushing games this season.
7:55 left - Herd reaches 56 points, the 12th time Marshall has scored 50 or more points under Coach Doc Holliday.
7:55 left - PK Justin Haig boots his eighth PAT of the game, giving him 194 for his career, tying Jarod Tracy (Tulsa, 2005-08) for No. 2 in C-USA career history. Matt Hogan (Houston, 2009-12) has the record of 228.
